Phylogenetic Relationships Among Four Species of Stag Beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) Based on Allozymes

The phylogenetic relationships among four stag beetles (Dorcus hopei, D. rectus, D. rubrofemoratus and Prosopocoilus inclinatus; Coleoptera: Lucanidae) from Japan were investigated by electrophoretic analyses of 17 different enzymes. From the allozyme variation in 35 genetic loci, the Nei's genetic distances between species were calculated, and a molecular phylogenetic tree for the four species was constructed. We conclude that (a) D. hopei and D. rectus are most closely related to each other and diverged later, (b) D. rubrofemoratus is genetically differentiated from the other two congeners, and (c) Prosopocoilus inclinatus is the most distant of the four species and diverged first. The phylogenetic relationships established by allozymic study are compared with the nonmolecular evidence from morphology, ecology and karyology. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.